Indore: A foiled bid by a class VII student to commit suicide by jumping off from the third floor of his school building a day earlier – by taking up the infamous 'Blue Whale Challenge' – has sent shockwaves through the Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital. The teenager was saved in the nick of time by his classmates and teachers. In what is being touted as the second probable case in the country, police and psychologists have advised parents and guardians to remain aware of their children’s online activities. ''This is a dangerous sign and raises concerns. It is the definite outcome of the widening gap between parents and children.

Unless children are pulled out of the virtual world and brought back into the real world, the peril is not far away,'' said Madhya Pradesh Police Help Centre’s Indore Convener Gyanendera Purohit. Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital Psychiatrist Ramgulam Rajdan felt that such games are causing severe harm to children’s psychology by luring them with inducements of rewards and challenging their abilities. ''Parents and guardians should keep their children away from such online games.

They should maintain a close contact with their children and discuss their hobbies and dislikes,” he said. Professor Shraddha Dubey – who teaches at a local college and is a mother of a 13-year-old – said that she was in a state of shock after hearing about the incident. She said that she has decided to have more frank conversations with her child. (UNI)